The gathering was composed of dance choreographers and critics from South East Asia, New Zealand and Australia, who came together in the effort of building a network for dance in the region. Binding the summit together was the launch of the Tanz Connexions website, which aims to provide an updated view of the dance scene in the region, and to promote collaborations and further developments of contemporary dance.There was a lot of buzz about the use of the terms "contemporary" and "traditional" in this summit. The theme of the summit was "Transforming Traditions." I see it as the Goethe Institut’s acknowledgment of Southeast Asia’s strong roots in traditional dance and how, coming from this background, choreographers attempt to explore the contemporary. Margie Medlin, director of Australia’s Critical Path, in her keynote address about the dance scene in her country, said that contemporizing dance meant to "take dance from outside and layer their heritage on top of it," which is normal in multicultural countries, and in post-colonial ones as well.
Of course, our own local dance scene has long dealt with the contemporizing of traditional dance and is looking towards other explorations than merely layering heritage on top of new choreography. Filipino choreographer Donna Miranda, who performed her Beneath Polka-Dotted Skies at the summit, is more interested in multimedia collaborations with other non-dance artists, both in the formation of ideas and in execution.Read the rest here: http://www.malaya.com.ph/sep02/livi4.htm
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